ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/ ....ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/degrading ecosystems. The research will provide new approaches for enhancing quality metabolite traits important for human health. It will further strengthen our international leadership in plant energy science, and will strengthen Australia's research training in systems biology to influence plant function.Read moreRead less
Identifying components of a novel imprinting mechanism that regulates seed size in plants. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. This project will study a fundamental biological process of seed development as seeds are a major food staple and an important export product for Australian farmers.
Channels for improved crop salt and water stress tolerance. Water and salt are critical factors for the Australian agricultural industry. Crops use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, and a newly discovered subset of these proteins can also transport salts. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and salt transport via aquaporins using multidisciplinary techniques in genetics, molecular biology and electrophysiology. These results will p ....Channels for improved crop salt and water stress tolerance. Water and salt are critical factors for the Australian agricultural industry. Crops use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, and a newly discovered subset of these proteins can also transport salts. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and salt transport via aquaporins using multidisciplinary techniques in genetics, molecular biology and electrophysiology. These results will provide novel insights into how plants coordinate and adapt to changing water and salt conditions, answering key questions in plant physiology. Benefits include an expanded, innovative range of targets for plant breeding programs to improve plant productivity in our changing climate.Read moreRead less
Deciphering how plants control water and salt co-transport. This project aims to increase our understanding of how plant cells regulate solute transport. Crop growth depends on water uptake and transport, and the rapid movement of water across plant cell membranes requires transporters such as aquaporins. Preliminary data indicates that a series of signals can switch aquaporins between functioning as highly selective water channels and salt transport channels. The project aims to reveal the mole ....Deciphering how plants control water and salt co-transport. This project aims to increase our understanding of how plant cells regulate solute transport. Crop growth depends on water uptake and transport, and the rapid movement of water across plant cell membranes requires transporters such as aquaporins. Preliminary data indicates that a series of signals can switch aquaporins between functioning as highly selective water channels and salt transport channels. The project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and salt co-transport, using genetics, molecular biology, and electrophysiology data to decipher how plants regulate and coordinate aquaporin solute transport during growth and in osmotic adjustment. The project has the potential to lead to improvements in crop-plant solute transport traits, enhanced agricultural productivity, and yield stability in saline and water limited environments.Read moreRead less